Concert & Event Listings
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Photo by Antoine Julien
There are currently more than 6,500 Indiana concerts listed in chronological order beginning in 1955. The listing may never include every event, however with your input as we continuously update, we will achieve a comprehensive list of Indiana's major concerts and events .
Events in an orange box
represent significant historical moments in time.
The Freedom Festival and Ice Cream Social
New Riders of the Purple Sage / The Ike & Tina Turner Review / Edgar Winter / Dr. John "The Night Tripper" / Cactus / Black Oak Arkansas / Country Joe McDonald & the Fish / Spirit / Howlin' Wolf / Quicksilver Messinger Service / Howlin' Wolf / John Lee Hooker
Promoters: Tom Dunkan and Bob Alexander
Poster courtesy of Bob Briones
I was there; I had an absolute blast
I was there too. I have seen many many icons of music but i must say ….by far she has been Simply the best!!!
Along with my brother and another friend, I drove the three of us to Evansville for the festival event.
I already had advance sale tickets and as we made our way to the stadium, one immediately noticeable was guys climbing the brick walls and unfortunately breaking glass windows in the structure as we passed by to enter the venue.
We had brought our sleeping bags with us for the overnight concert, which was a blast (I particularly was impressed with Ike & Tina Turner and the energy of her performance).
Every act was impressive and the night moved along, act after act.
At some point during the wee hours near morning the three of us zipped up our sleeping bags and dozed off for a while.
As I was catching some shutter, I felt a kick/push on my legs while still zipped into my bag and when I stuck my head out to see what that was about, an Indiana State Trooper was standing over me brandishing his Billy Club (nightstick) and saying “It’s over! Get your stuff and get outta here! The last 50 people still here are gonna have to clean this mess up!)
As I quickly survived the scene around the stadium I could see that many people had already left, but the remaining were getting the same treatment…Troopers with clubs
I and German Shepherds on leashes were all around the place clearing the stadium.
We didn’t need a second warning and speedily grabbed our sleeping bags and made for the exit
So, all-in-all, the music was fantastic and the grand finale made for a hard-to-forget experience.
I knew Bobby Alexander (although one of my friends knew him much better), so I lucky enough to be invited to workat the festival as part of the stage crew and I also picked up some of the artists at Evansville airport since I could drive a cab. I missed some of the show as a result, but highlights were meeting Tina Turner and the Ikettes in their dressing room while they were rehearsing their routine, and picking up members of Cactus at the airport. I knew who they were because of Vanilla Fudge and they were impressed.
All the bands were great. NRPS was killer as were the Turners. It was great getting to see the blues legends. But what really got the promoters in the soup wasn’t the party the day of or the storming of the bastille. It was the fact that about 6000 folks descended on Garvin’s Park (A city park adjacent to the Bosse Field, which, BTW, is the 3rd oldest professional baseball filed left standing.) starting the week before. You started at the fountain, and it took about 2 hours to get around the park and back to start. The neighbors were not happy, I can tell you that. Some folks I know raided the local dairy and filled the fountain with various dairy food items. All gone in about 20 minutes!
I was there, sat on infield at @SS, lol. Great concert, finished up well after midnight with Edgar Winter who had some monster hits at the time. My girlfriend and I, and another couple came over from Mt.Carmel.
How can I get a poster? i’d love to purchase one!
I was there at 15 years old, did my first hit of LSD 25 and watched the huge speakers fly overhead while digging the music. I’m pretty sure Tina Turner wasn’t wearing panties and Howlin Wolf was the biggest damn wolf I’ve ever seen in my entire life. NRPS was a great band, even at 15 I was into different bands and still like a variety of music. Almost got arrested after the concert because I just had to ask the cops standing next to the paddy wagon why they were harassing everyone. Luckily someone pulled me away just as they were about to throw me in the truck. Good times!